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Burt Gummer
Feeding Frenzy.]] Bertram (Burt) Gummer is a fictional character, played by actor Michael Gross, from the Tremors film series and the short lived SciFi Channel TV program of the same name. Appearing in Tremors, Tremors 2: Aftershocks, Tremors 3: Back to Perfection, and several episodes of the TV series, Burt Gummer is a firearms enthusiast, and a paranoid survivalist. He and his former wife, Heather Gummer (played by Reba McEntire), were the first persons in the film series to directly kill a Graboid. He has an "overkill" approach to trouble and takes himself deadly seriously. Although he is only the central character in Tremors 3 and the TV series, his eccentric personality has made him a favorite among Tremors fans and the de-facto star of the franchise, along with the vicious Graboids who oppose him. His ancestor, Hiram Gummer (also played by Gross), appears in Tremors 4: The Legend Begins. Background Although very little is known about Burt's past, it is widely hinted that he was involved in the military. Though the actual creators dispute about thishttp://www.stampede-entertainment.com/faq/faq.php?answer=283&cat_name=Questions. In the Tremors TV Series, Burt went to Teluca in an episode to uncover a government conspiracy for the townsfolk to prove it was a Graboid problem, rather than an alien conspiracy that the government won't let them visit the "mothership", according to Rosie (The diner co-owner next to Red). Burt proceeded to go on about how he was all too familiar with cover-ups, which would lead one to believe he was involved, again, in the military. It's possible he was in a secret branch, and witnessed something he didn't like. What is known, however, is that Burt settled in Perfection with his wife, Heather sometime before the Tremors movie series. It was later revealed in Tremors 4 that his ancestor Hiram Gummer, also played by Gross, settled in Rejection (Perfection's previous name), and married the local town-mistress. Stampede Entertainment's official website states that Hiram and his wife left in 1902 for San Francisco after a disagreement with Nevada bureaucrats over the date of the town's founding, and never returned. Hiram did leave Burt and his family with a large supply of silver bars which Burt has apparently been using to turn his home into a graboid proof fortress as well as acquiring weaponry which originally was for defense against the possibility of the Cold War heating up but now to fight against the Graboids. When Burt's house was destroyed in Tremors 3 it took out his weaponry stockpile as well as his stockpile of silver bars. Burt has a strange affection with guns since middle-school, evidenced by him telling Desert Jack that he converted his BB gun to automatic by the eight-grade. One controversy is how he gets his weapons and ammo, despite all of his guns being legal (except a Sub Machine Gun he is seen to own), the bullets for the Grizzly Big Boar, and Barrett 82A1 .50 cal BMG are a topic that could be debated. Also how he got his hands on a minigun legally is also questionable. It's possible he gets them in illegally, but W.D. Twitchell, the Department of Interior representative after Tremors 3, has done nothing to stop Burt. It is also possible that he undertook the NFA process to purchase completely legal transferable title II weapons. Which would include any of an array of sub-machine guns or even the minigun. Burt was at first paranoid about surviving World-War III, which was why he considered himself a survivalist. He spent all of his years preparing in case it would happen sooner or later, which hasn't happened yet. After Tremors 1, Burt's focus on Graboids becomes greater as each movie goes on. After Tremors 2, Burt is very paranoid about Graboids and Shriekers, rather than the world coming to an end. His focus shifts on them, determined to survive at all costs against El Blanco. Burt, however, is known to have the first "actual" Graboid kill by using his own hands (guns actually), instead of the Graboid killing itself by ramming into a cement wall. As of Tremors 3 he's the only person to ever survive being eaten by a Graboid, being eaten while in a barrel, after which the Graboid was tricked into killing itself by running itself into a cement wall, after which it was cut open with a chainsaw and Burt climbed out. Reception among Tremors fans Burt began as a very popular character after the first Tremors movie, garnering enough popularity to be one of the only two original cast-characters to make a return in the movie, and the only character to make an appearance in every Tremors movie, as well as the TV-Series. Although, Burt himself wasn't in Tremors 4, Hiram, his grandfather, was a toned-down version of Burt, so it could be assumed among fans that it's just Burt. The similarities are there, just the look and different name separate the two. He was known as the de-facto star of the franchise after Tremors 2, officially. Another little favorite is his paranoia of the government, and his seriousness always being used as humor. And his hats, which are in each of his appearances. All of them are "Atlanta Hawks" hats, which changes appearances each movie and in the show. Relationships *Jodi Chang takes Burt in stride and is even fond of him. *Tyler Reed rolls with Burt's eccentricities. *Rosalita Sanchez simply finds his overkill and paranoia odd. *Ex-hippy Nancy Sterngood butts heads with Burt on almost every issue; she pokes holes in his arguments and tries to make him see reason. But for Burt there's always been "a little too much Summer of Love in that woman." Quotes Burt has a penchant for spouting that memorable line of dialogue that crystallizes the moment: "Broke into the wrong god damn rec room, didn't you, ya bastard?!" Tremors "I feel I was denied critical, need-to-know information." Tremors 2 "And that's why we're at the top of the food chain!" Tremors 3 Notes *Has appeared on 60 minutes. *One of his cars license plates reads UZI 4U. *The fact that his first name is Bertram is stated in the Tremors FAQ. *The item that Burt covered up in Tremors 2 was a type of cannon shell that he was hoing to add to his collection. Appearances *''Tremors'' *''Tremors 2: Aftershocks'' *''Tremors 3: Back to Perfection'' *''Tremors: The Series'' **''Feeding Frenzy'' **''Ghost Dance'' **''Night of the Shriekers'' **''Blast from the Past'' **''Flora or Fauna'' **''Hit and Run'' **''A Little Paranoia Among the Friends'' **''Project 4-12'' **''Graboid Rights'' **''The Sounds of Silence (Mentioned only) **''The Key'' (Mentioned only) **''Water Hazard'' **''Shriek and Destroy'' Gallery burt.JPG|Burt in Tremors 2: Aftershocks References External links *SciFi.com summary of Burt Gummer *www.BurtGummer.com *Burt's basment 3-D tour Category:Tremors Category:Characters